automotive

The race is on for the next big thing in the car industry — a race that’ll soon be automated. Nissan announced Tuesday it will sell self-driving cars by the year 2020.

Nissan says it will debut multiple self-driving cars to the market at realistic prices for consumers. It’s not the first time the company has hinted at automated cars, but it’s the first time it has given a debut date. (Via YouTube / TechHiveTV)

“Five years ago at this event, that’s when they said they’re going to be building electric vehicles. They’ve done that. We’ll see if they can come up with autonomous drive vehicles as well by 2020.” (Via CNBC)

The Japanese automaker is reportedly working with several universities around the world to develop the autonomous, safe technology. (Via Slashgear)

A writer for The Wall Street Journal says many companies are trying to perfect these self-driving vehicles to reduce human errors that cause car accidents.

So, could 2020 be the year of the robot car? It definitely sounds like the race is on – other car manufacturers are also targeting that year as a projected release date.

General Motors has also listed 2020 its year for launching nearly full self-driving cars. (Via Kelley Blue Book)

BMW too says it wants roll out automated cars in 2020. The company already released a prototype back in 2011.

But, Google is looking to beat most of those manufacturers to the punch. The tech giant wants to start selling self-driving cars commercially by 2017.